Editing Navigator (section)

== In aviation ==
{{Further|Air navigation}}
Navigators are sometimes also called 'air navigators' or 'flight navigators'. In [[civil aviation]] this was a position on older aircraft, typically between the late-1910s and the 1970s, where separate crew members (sometimes two navigation crew members) were often responsible for an aircraft's flight navigation, including its [[dead reckoning]] and [[celestial navigation]], especially when flown over oceans or other large featureless areas where [[radio navigation]] aids were not originally available. As [[Air navigation#Navigation aids|sophisticated electronic air navigation aids]] and universal [[Satellite navigation|space-based GPS]] navigation systems came online, the dedicated Navigator's position was discontinued and its function was assumed by dual-licensed Pilot-Navigators, and still later by the aircraft's primary pilots (Captain and First Officer), resulting in a continued downsizing in the number of aircrew positions on commercial flights. Modern electronic navigation systems made the civil aviation navigators redundant by the early 1980s.<ref name="FrancoFlyers.org-2008.10.14"/>
[[File:Navigators Cockpit 1928.jpg|thumb|Navigators cockpit 1928]]
In [[military aviation]], navigators are still actively trained and licensed in some present day [[air forces]], as electronic navigation aids cannot be assumed to be operational during [[war]]time. In the world's air forces, modern navigators are frequently tasked with weapons and defensive systems operations, along with co-pilot duties such as flight planning and fuel management, depending on the type, model and series of aircraft.<ref>{{cite book |title=A Dictionary of Aviation |first=David W. |last=Wragg |isbn=9780850451634 |edition=first |publisher=Osprey |year=1973 |page=200}}</ref>  In the [[U.S. Air Force]], the [[USAF Aeronautical Ratings|aeronautical rating]] of navigator has been augmented by addition of the [[combat systems officer]], while in the [[U.S. Navy]] and [[U.S. Marine Corps]], those officers formerly called navigators, tactical systems officers, or naval aviation observers have been known as [[naval flight officer]]s since the mid-1960s.  USAF navigators/combat systems officers and USN/USMC naval flight officers must be basic mission qualified in their aircraft, or fly with an instructor navigator or instructor NFO to provide the necessary training for their duties.